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Smash Comics Vol 1 3
| Editor1_1 = Ed Cronin | Writer1_1 = Will Eisner | Penciler1_1 = Will Eisner | Inker1_1 = Will Eisner | StoryTitle1 = Espionage Starring Black Ace: "The Plot To Take Alaska" | Synopsis1 = When the president sends out freighters to bring all US citizens home for their own safety, an unnamed European nation decides to sink them, as part of its elaborate and improbable plan to seize Alaska (the schemers look Russian, or at least European). The Black Ace is in Europe, and infiltrates the mercenary submarine crew assigned to destroy the ships. Crew-recruiting takes a week and crew-training takes "a few weeks." On its first raid, the sub intercepts the American evacuation convoy. With the help of an American mercenary, who has a change of heart, then gets killed, Ace takes on the submarine crew and at the end of that fight he's in charge of the sub. He brings the sub to the surface, where it's quickly sunk by gunfire from U.S. destroyers, then he organizes the surviving few merc submariners and keeps them calm until rescue divers arrive. In a private meeting with the President, although Black Ace knows which European nation is behind the submarine attack, he respectfully refuses to divulge it to the President, arguing that revealing this would lead to war. The President agrees. | Appearing1 = Featured Characters: * Supporting Characters: * Colonel Atwater Antagonists: * unnamed European government ** European Admiralty *** mercenary submarine crew Other Characters: * Agent X-10 * * unnamed American mercenary Locations: * European port city * * ** Espionage HQ ** Vehicles: * U.S. evacuation ships * U.S. escorting destroyers * pirate submarine | Writer2_1 = Vernon Henkel | Penciler2_1 = Vernon Henkel | Inker2_1 = Vernon Henkel | StoryTitle2 = Chic Carter: "Noted Explorer Lost" | Synopsis2 = Chic Carter travels to Mongolia to get the story on a missing explorer. He hires a plane and pilot, Red Branigan, to fly from Shanghai to the interior, although this is forbidden by the local military officials. Over rural China, a Japanese artillery crew shoots at them, damaging Branigan's biplane, forcing them to land at a remote village. There they meet young Valerie Bruce, American missionary. Mongol bandits attack the town, and abduct Bruce, Branigan, and Carter, then loot the town and kill most or all of the people. The Mongol chief, General Chang, is also holding Dennis Courtney, the missing explorer. He wants Chic to act as go-between, in his deal to collect ransom money for Courtney, and wants Red to fly missions for his bandit army. Chic punches Chang in the face, and gets clapped in chains for it, then everybody marches away to Chang's mountain stronghold, where Chic is soon sharing a dungeon cell with Dennis Courtney. The Manchuako Japanese Army shows up and attacks Chang's stronghold. Chang orders Red to fly him over the Japanese lines, which Red does, but then flips the open-cockpit plane upside down, dumping the General among the Japanese troops, from a good distance up. Meanwhile an artillery shell breaks open Chang's dungeon badly enough for Carter and Courtney to escape, and they seek out Miss Bruce, who right before their eyes is shot by one of Chang's guards. Carter punches ut the guard, and carries Valerie out into an open area, where Red soon lands his plane. All four of them stuff themselves into the two-seat plane, and Red flies away, while the Japanese invaders overrun the Mongolian fortress. Red flies to Nanking and they take Valerie to a hospital, then Chic telegraphs his story back to the Daily Star. He also receives a new assignment. Soon Dennis and Valerie return to America, while Chic and Red pack their stuff for a trip to Singapore. | Appearing2 = Featured Characters: * Supporting Characters: * "Pop", Daily Star Editor * Red Branigan Antagonists: * * General Chang ** his Mongolian bandits Other Characters: * Dennis Courtney, explorer * Valerie Bruce, missionary * mountain villagers Locations: * ** Daily Star * ** ** ** Vehicles: * Brannigan's 2-seat open-cockpit biplane | Writer3_1 = Vernon Henkel | Penciler3_1 = Vernon Henkel | Inker3_1 = Vernon Henkel | StoryTitle3 = Abdul the Arab: "The Capture of Livingston" | Synopsis3 = | Appearing3 = Featured Characters: * Supporting Characters: * Hassan Antagonists: * Chief Abu El Khall * Ben Jabby * Ali * the Baron Other Characters: * Livingston * British post commander ** 11 commandos Locations: * Arabia ** British post ** Baron's headquarters Items: * formula for "Livstong Steel" | Writer4_1 = William A. Smith | Penciler4_1 = William A. Smith | Inker4_1 = William A. Smith | StoryTitle4 = Captain Cook of Scotland Yard: "Monster Walks the Streets of London" | Synopsis4 = | Appearing4 = Featured Characters: * , Scotland Yard Supporting Characters: * Chief * Kelly * two more detectives Antagonists: * Professor Dwyer ** Dwyer's unnamed talking ape Other Characters: * elevator boy Locations: * ** Dell Street Police Station ** 60 Dell Street, apartment building ** London University ** Haddock Street Police Station ** the Moors, just outside London *** abandoned castle Items: * vial of chloral * Prof. Dwyer's ape with transplanted human brain * Prof. Dwyer's incandescent death ray Vehicles: * police car | Writer5_1 = Art Pinajian | Penciler5_1 = Art Pinajian | Inker5_1 = Art Pinajian | StoryTitle5 = Invisible Justice: "The Pirate Submarine" | Synopsis5 = In New York Bay, a pirate submarine has been robbing and sinking ships, striking every midnight. Kent Thurston books passage aboard the S.S. James, and at midnight, in N.Y. Bay, the pirates strike again. While they’re busy stealing a gold shipment, Thurston gets invisible and dives over the side, swimming to the nearby submarine’s position, and climbing aboard, then sneaking inside. This sub is the world's most advanced, it dives deeper and runs faster than any other, and its developer, John Webb, is a hostage aboard it, forced to run the sub for these gangsters. The gang’s hideout is in an apparently-abandoned two-masted schooner, anchored in the middle of the bay. The Hood questions Webb, then sneaks aboard the schooner and cuts its anchor rope with an ax; the small ship begins to drift. That’s a big problem for the gangster crew, so while they scramble to re-anchor the craft, the Hood grabs Webb (unconscious right then due to a beating), and sneaks back aboard the submarine, changes back to mufti, and revives Webb. They team up to operate the sub, but before they can get clear of the schooner, the boss gangster shows up in the control room with a pistol. Thurston disarms him then takes him out in two punches. At story's end, the pirates are turned over to the Coast Guard and the prototype submarine is turned over to the Navy. | Appearing5 = Featured Characters: * Antagonists: * Pirates Other Characters: * John Webb, submarine builder * Watkins, USCG commander Locations: * ** New York Bay Vehicles: * S.S. Baldwin * S.S. Wales * S.S. Pomeroy * S.S. James * derelict schooner * prototype submarine | Writer7_1 = George E. Brenner | Penciler7_1 = George E. Brenner | Inker7_1 = George E. Brenner | StoryTitle7 = Clip Chance at Cliffside: "Rivalry with Ray Snort, Part 1" | Synopsis7 = | Appearing7 = Featured Characters: * Supporting Characters: * Spud * Coach Barr Antagonists: * Ray Snort * Poke * Slim Locations: * Cliffside College * Cody College | Writer9_1 = Harry Francis Campbell | Penciler9_1 = Harry Francis Campbell | Inker9_1 = Harry Francis Campbell | StoryTitle9 = John Law, Scientective: "Death in the Sky" | Synopsis9 = John Law, Scientective, is engaged by June Carter to investigate a series of accidents and threats at Phoenix Air Lines. June is the airline's president's daughter. Law visits the airport and asks some questions, then gets shot at, and chases the shooter, who gets away. John interviews the airline president and learns that the threatener is using bombs to crash passenger planes, and calls himself "the Avenger." The Scientective returns to his Law Office / Laboratory, and finds a threat note from the Avenger. Expecting a follow-up attack, he sets up an elaborate booby trap in his office, then waits. A stealthy figure shows up and breaks in, and Law quickly has him covered with his semiautomatic handgun. The intruder has a glass globe, which John Law shoots and shatters, which turns out to be full of hydrocyanic gas, one whiff of which knocks the thug down. Law barely drags him out of the room and into his laboratory, and administers a methylene blue treatment, which saves the burglar's life. He is Mike Ross, airport mechanic, and being blackmailed by the Avenger to do this break-in, and a string of other crimes too. The Scientective teams up with him, and gets some more information about the Avenger's plane-bombing method. The next day, the Scientective drives out into the countryside, along with Mr. Carter and June, and conducts an experiment involving a new barograph, recently delivered. The barograph turns out to be a bomb, confirming Law's theory. He instructs the airline president to have all the new barographs soaked in a solution of quinine sulphate, and to convene a meeting of the airline's executives for 8:00 that night. At the meeting, John Law uses an X-ray lamp to reveal the bomb-planter, it's Davis, the airport manager, whose quinine soaked hands glow yellow under the X-ray. Davis whips out a pistol but Law disarms him, and Davis blurts out a confession, but just as he's about to name his boss, a shot is fired thru the office window, killing him. The killer escapes, but Law and Carter both are sure the immediate threat is over. | Appearing9 = Featured Characters: * Supporting Characters: * June Carter Antagonists: * The Avenger ** Mike Ross ** Mr. Davis, Phoenix General Manager Other Characters: * Travers * Jack Smith * Mr. Carter * Tony Locations: Locations: * Area ** Phoenix Air Line airport Vehicles: * airliners | Writer10_1 = Vernon Henkel | Penciler10_1 = Vernon Henkel | Inker10_1 = Vernon Henkel | StoryTitle10 = Wings Wendall, of the Military Intelligence: "The Plot Against the Panama Canal" | Synopsis10 = | Appearing10 = Featured Characters: * Supporting Characters: * * Wendall's C.O. Antagonists: * The Hooded Terror ** submarine crew Other Characters: * Canal Zone commanding officer Locations: * ** U.S. HQ ** waterfront bar ** Hooded Terror's secret submarine pier Vehicles: * USN PBY Catalina flying boat * Hooded Terror's submarine * US troop ship * USS Neptune * squadron of biplane dive-bombers | Writer11_1 = George E. Brenner | Penciler11_1 = George E. Brenner | Inker11_1 = George E. Brenner | StoryTitle11 = Hugh Hazzard and his Iron Man: "Von Hutz's Plan" | Synopsis11 = At the Naval Base in New York City, two spies, "Number Five" and Carl, under the direction of boss spy Von Hutz, kidnap a security guard, and torture him, with hot needles under his fingernails, to learn which vault holds the plans to a new torpedo bomb, then blow up the vault and steal the plans. Hugh Hazzard, Ace of Crime-Busters, has been listening in on the spies’ radio comms, and when they are coordinating their escape plan, he switches the call to his teleradio, and by means of his super-seper-iconoscope is able to get an overhead video view of the villains’ fleeing car, AND an image of Von Hutz at his spy-base. He overhears as Von Hutz directs his agents to the Bolton Estate, where a getaway airplane awaits them, while on another frequency, a short-wave radio broadcast helpfully fills in the details about the stolen set of plans. Hazzard gets aboard his super robot, using straps to ride it like a pony, and flies off in pursuit. Using a telescope, he spots the car, and arrives ahead of it at the estate, then watches from concealment as the two-seat biplane takes off, leaving Von Hutz behind. Hugh sends Bozo after the plane, which is armed with a tail-mounted machinegun, which is ineffectual against flying Bozo, who zooms into position ahead of the plane and causes a mid-air crash. The two spies parachute to momentary safety, but Bozo snags them up before they even reach the ground, and carries them back to Hazzard’s position. There, Hazzard has gotten sneaked up on and captured by Von Hutz, who ties him up but carelessly misses the concealed control board under his lapel, with which Hazzard recalls Bozo, for a last-split-second rescue. While the robot unties the investigator, Von Hutz flees, into his powder shed, where he sets a trap by lighting a fuse, then leaves by the back door. Bozo pursues him into the shed, just as it blows up, but is undamaged. Bozo then subdues Von Hutz, gathers up both other spies, and the stolen plans, and Hugh sends him flying to Washington DC to turn them all in. | Appearing11 = Featured Characters: * * Antagonists: * Von Hutz * Spy Number Five * Carl Locations: * ** Naval Base ** Bolton Estate Items: * Hugh Hazzard's teleradio * Hugh Hazzard's super-seper-iconoscope Vehicles: * Von Hutz' biplane | Notes = * Abdul the Arab: ** "The Baron" sports a monocle AND a cigarette holder, yet he is not explicitly identified as a Nazi. ** Hassan kills Chief Abu El Khall, and seems to routinely pack a handgun. * Captain Cook: ** Professor Dwyer transplants the human brain of a mail-plane pilot into an enormous ape. This is the first interspecies brain transplant in a Quality Comics comic, and the third such transplant in a (DC + Quality + Fawcett) comic book. Cover date on this issue is Oct 1939. *** First interspecies brain transplant in a DC Comics comic was in Detective Comics #6, the Aug 1937 issue, in the Speed Saunders story, performed by scientist Roskoffin. *** Second series of interspecies brain transplants, in a (DC + Quality + Fawcett) comic, was done by Dr. Kichung, in Sunwei, in the Tex Thomson stories in Action #s 8 & 9, the Jan & Feb 1939 issues. *** The fourth series of interspecies brain transplants, in a (DC + Quality + Fawcett) comic, was performed by Herbert Handers, in Mexico, in the Zatara story in Action Comics #19, the Dec 1939 issue. *** The fifth brain transplantation project was that of the Ultra-Humanite, in the Superman story in Action Comics #20, the Jan 1940 issue. * Espionage: ** The first part of this story seems to take place circa 1938-Oct-late, based on earlier episodes. If so, then the submarine warfare part of the story would be about 1938-Nov-late, at the very earliest. ** Batu is absent. ** The President doesn't especially look like FDR, and is not named. * Hugh Hazzard: ** Von Hutz's henchman, Number Five, wears a monocle. ** Von Hutz and his spy gang are not explicitly identified as Nazis. * Invisible Justice: ** Of the three "pirate submarine" stories in this issue, Invisible Hood is the only hero who manages to not be sunk along with a villain submarine. * First issue for John Law by Harry Francis Campbell. * Wings Wendall: ** He's a captain in the U.S. military, and usually wears a khaki uniform. *** He might be a captain (O-3) in the Army or Marine Corps, or he might be a captain (O-6) in the Navy. *** His organization is identified only as "Military Intelligence", except for his use of " " as a callsign, back in Smash Comics #1. G-2 = Army. ** This issue he goes under cover in a fake civilian identity, as "Kilgallin". ** He smokes a pipe sometimes, and cigarettes frequently. ** Hooded Terror's submarine has "X-5" stenciled on the side of the conning tower. ** Hooded Terror is only called "Hooded Terror" in two captions; his minions all address him and refer to him as "the Master". It's not clear what he calls himself. ** This issue both Wings Wendall and the Black Ace have been aboard enemy submarines as they sank, and survived it. * Also appearing in this issue of Smash Comics were: ** Archie O'Toole: "King O'Toole To Visit America" by Will Eisner ** Interesting People: "Alice Brownfield'' by Stookie Allen ** "Mystery At Catalina, Chapter 3" (text story) by Jeffrey Spain ** Philpot Veep: "The Distressing Affair of the Persecuted Panhandlers" by John Devlin ** Screen Snapshots: "Jane Withers" by Bernard Baily ** Small Stuff by John Devlin ** Sportraits: "Clinton Frank" by Gill Fox | Trivia = * Will Eisner signed his Espionage stories as "Will Erwin" and his "Archie O'Toole" stories as "Bud Thomas". * George Brenner signed his Clip Chance stories as "Scott Sheridan" and his Hugh Hazzard stories as "Wayne Reid". * Art Pinajian signed his Invisible Justice stories as "Art Gordon". | Recommended = | Links = * Smash Comics #3 Oct 1939, entire issue }}